Biotechnology
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May 24 | News
Researchers
at the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory have invented a simple,
inexpensive dip-and-dry treatment can convert ordinary silk into a
fabric that kills disease-causing bacteria—even the armor-coated spores
of microbes like anthrax—in minutes.
May 24 | News
The
highly pathogenic hantavirus causes a condition known as hantavirus
pulmonary syndrome (HPS), which has a case fatality rate of 35-40%. To
help the fight against a disease that has no vaccine, U.S. Army
scientists and industry collaborators have successfully protected
laboratory animals from lethal hantavirus disease using a novel approach
that combines DNA vaccines and duck eggs.
May 21 | News
Catching
a crocodile or alligator to obtain a blood sample for testing is often
done at night by a boat or a canoe. A snout snare eases the process, but
it’s still a nerve-wracking experience. The samples are for the first
mapping project for crocodile and alligator genomes, and it’s also the
among the first such efforts to be done on a reptile species.
May 21 | News
University
of Iowa neuroscientist John Wemmie is interested in the effect of acid
in the brain. His studies using new magnetic resonance imaging
techniques suggest that increased acidity or low pH, in the brain is
linked to panic disorders, anxiety, and depression. But his work also
suggests that changes in acidity are important for normal brain activity
too.
May 18 | News
Scientists
had originally thought they could create a “magic bullet” to patrol for
cancer cells in the body, but only 5% of injected nanoparticles reach
the targeted tumor using current delivery techniques. A Johns Hopkins
University scientist is now working on techniques to specify
nanoparticle size and shape and improve the chances that the drug will
find its target.
May 15 | News
Scientists
at Weill Cornell Medical College have discovered that the single
protein, alpha 2 delta, exerts a spigot-like function that controls the
volume of neurotransmitters and other chemicals that flow between the
synapses of brain neurons. The surprising finding tells us not only how
brain cells communicate, but also how a certain pain drug works.
May 14 | News
A
research team at Rutgers University has been able to take a new
pharmacological approach to activate the immune cells to prevent cancer
growth through stimulation of the opiate receptors found on immune
cells.
May 9 | News
A
pill that has long been used to treat HIV has moved one step closer to
becoming the first drug approved to prevent healthy people from becoming
infected with the virus that causes AIDS. The Food and Drug
Administration said Tuesday that Gilead Sciences' Truvada appears to be
safe and effective for HIV prevention.
May 4 | News
Over the past several decades, scientists have faced challenges in developing new antibiotics even as bacteria have become increasingly resistant to existing drugs. One strategy that might combat such resistance would be to overwhelm bacterial defenses by using highly targeted nanoparticles to deliver large doses of existing antibiotics. In a step toward that goal, researchers have developed a nanoparticle designed to evade the immune system and home in on infection sites, then unleash a focused antibiotic attack.
May 3 | News
Four
months ago the U.S. government sought to block publication of two
studies about how scientists created an easily spread form of bird flu.
Now a revised version of one paper is seeing the light of day with the
government's blessing. The second paper, which is more controversial
because it involves what appears to be a more dangerous virus, is
expected to be published later.
